On November 8, Fonterra introduced a goal of 30% depth discount in on-farm emissions – so-called scope 3 – by 2030, from a 2018 baseline. At 86%, on-farm emissions make up essentially the most sizable a part of Fonterra’s GHG footprint, and the brand new goal is looking for to scale back their depth by ton of fats and protein-corrected milk collected by the co-operative. This will likely be carried out in a number of methods – by means of improved herd efficiency and feed high quality, novel applied sciences to deal with methane, carbon removals from vegetation, and land-use change conversions.
In highlighting a few of the challenges to enhancing on-farm GHG emissions footprint, Fonterra chairman Peter McBride mentioned there was ‘important variation inside and throughout farming programs on the subject of emissions depth’. “There’s nobody answer to lowering on-farm emissions,” he mentioned. “It can require a mix of sharing greatest farming practices and know-how to scale back emissions – it’s each our greatest alternative and our greatest problem.”
Fonterra’s scope 3 goal comes after near a yr of discussions with farmers about why it was wanted within the first place, and the way it may be achieved. On one hand, the co-op wants to fulfill market expectations, with CEO Miles Hurrell stating that “the co-op must preserve making progress to verify it doesn’t fall behind”.
However, a scope 3 emissions goal is essential to attaining any net-zero goals. As Kite Consulting sustainability skilled Hayley Campbell-Gibbons advised DairyReporter, “Web zero targets are an end-goal to scope 3 discount targets and efforts. What’s essential is that any firm’s internet zero goal should embody all emissions scopes. The overwhelming majority of any giant meals firm’s emissions lie of their scope 3, so any goal that doesn’t search to deal with that is largely pointless.”
There’s one other caveat – reporting on-farm emissions knowledge in depth phrases means tackling emissions per unit of output, i.e. kilogram of milk collected, reasonably than setting one blanket, ‘absolute’ discount goal.
Requested why Fonterra selected to undertake an intensity-based goal for scope 3, a spokesperson for the co-op advised us: “Absolute emissions seek advice from the overall quantity of greenhouse fuel being emitted. Depth compares the quantity of emissions to a unit of output, for instance per kilogram of milk solids. While we’re setting an depth goal, we’ll proceed to report yearly on our discount in absolute emissions, which have decreased by 1.85 million tonnes of CO2e (-6.9%) since 2018.”
The spokesperson added that Fonterra has submitted its targets for validation with the Science Primarily based Goal Initiative (SBTi) in alignment with the target of holding international warming beneath 1.5°C.
“The intensity-based method just isn’t novel or new with different comparative worldwide corporations resembling Cargill, Glanbia, Kerry and Tyson Meals having intensity-based approaches. In New Zealand, it is usually utilized by Synlait and Olam,” the spokesperson concluded.
Depth-based targets make enterprise sense – however are they formidable sufficient?
In line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change (IPCC), restraining emissions in absolute phrases is what the planet wants. In its particular report entitled International Warming of 1.5°C, the IPCC concludes, leaning on present analysis, that “[m]ost interventions that enhance the productiveness of livestock programs and improve adaptation to local weather modifications would additionally cut back the emissions depth of meals manufacturing, with important co-benefits for rural livelihoods and the safety of meals provides (Gerber et al., 2013; FAO and NZAGRC, 2017a, b, c). Whether or not such reductions in emission depth lead to decrease or greater absolute GHG emissions is determined by total demand for livestock merchandise, indicating the relevance of integrating supply-side with demand-side measures inside meals safety goals (Gerber et al., 2013; Bajželj et al., 2014).”
With demand for dairy projected to extend sooner or later, limiting manufacturing isn’t an choice for processors, who’re aiming to fulfill this demand whereas lowering their environmental footprint on the similar time. In that sense, intensity-based targets can provide a balanced method, however are they environment friendly sufficient to deal with local weather change?
We contacted the Carbon Disclosure Challenge (CDP) for some background data on the topic. CDP is a nonprofit group that runs a worldwide environmental disclosure system for companies and public organizations, and holds the biggest environmental database on the earth, having scored greater than 15,000 corporations, together with Fonterra, Danone and Yili.
Requested which kind of goal is perfect for the local weather, a CDP spokesperson advised us: “Depth targets are an essential stepping stone in corporations’ decarbonization journeys, however they don’t at all times result in absolute reductions, due to this fact absolute emissions reductions targets are higher for the ‘larger image’ when it comes to lowering emissions globally.”
They added that as a common rule, depth targets are higher for homogeneous industries resembling cement or metal, because the merchandise and life cycle emissions are related and thus simpler to check. “These industries are likely to have fewer giant gamers that dominate the market, thus if the business all strikes in a path to zero emissions depth it’s extra probably that absolute emissions reductions will comply with. Whichever targets are adopted (close to time period absolute and depth targets) they need to be formidable and allow the corporate’s transition to a net-zero [2050] future.”
This isn’t a lot the case for dairy, the place manufacturing strategies and product sorts fluctuate. And why we confirmed with CDP that absolute targets can be extra formidable and make a better impression on emissions reductions, SBTi’s forest, land and agriculture steerage (FLAG) has been designed particularly with land-intensive sectors in thoughts.
“For depth targets to make sure high-level of ambition comparability and to reduce the possibility of inflated progress a corporations should use the proper metric,” the CDP spokesperson added. “Relating to corporations on this sector setting a goal, they need to comply with the steerage from FLAG to assist them in setting science-based targets.” To that finish, Fonterra’s scope 3 targets are FLAG-compliant.
“Since 2022 [the launch of SBTi’s FLAG guidance, ed.], there was a 1.5°C aligned, credible emissions depth pathway obtainable for the sector. Nonetheless, these depth convergence pathways require a minimal 3.1% annual absolute discount and are relevant to brief time period (2020-2030) targets solely. These commodity pathways – depth targets – are solely relevant to the corporate’s FLAG emissions; fossil emissions (e.g., from transport) can’t be included.”
“At present, it’s troublesome to remove greater than 80-90% of emissions throughout any business, so the remaining hard-to-abate emissions are a difficulty throughout all business/ sectors. This doesn’t imply that corporations ought to delay beginning to measure and handle their scope 3 emissions. Firms that report by means of CDP disclosed their provide chain emissions are the most important contributor to greenhouse fuel emissions – accounting for a mean of 11.4x extra emissions as in comparison with operational emissions.”
A knowledge-driven method
Fonterra advised us it has been measuring every farm’s environmental as a way to provide farmers particular insights into how every producer can transfer the needle on sustainability, with out compromising their profitability and productiveness. “Yearly, our farmers obtain a Farm Insights report that’s customized to their farm and provides a view of their farm’s effectivity,” a spokesperson for the co-op advised us. “We’ve been producing these reviews for the previous few seasons. The reviews flip knowledge from milk high quality and manufacturing, Farm Dairy Data, and business analysis into insights that farmers can use to fine-tune productiveness, profitability, and sustainability.
“The reviews may give farmers a greater understanding of their farm’s emissions, benchmarked in opposition to different related farms.”
There’s additionally a workforce of ‘on-farm sustainability daring advisors’ obtainable to assist farmers in making environmental modifications, we have been advised. “This yr, we launched a brand new farm effectivity overview, in addition to a milk manufacturing web page that appears at manufacturing per cow. That is to present farmers a greater concept of what’s occurring on farm, and the way their farm compares to others within the co-op. We’re working in the direction of each farm having their very own Farm Atmosphere Plan by 2025.”
The spokesperson added that on-farm emissions for the entire enterprise had been calculated yearly since 2004, utilizing a lifecycle evaluation mannequin that considers all emission scopes related to the co-op’s milk manufacturing. “This reporting is completed utilizing AgResearch so is unbiased of Fonterra. Utilizing this reporting we can get an correct image of any change in emissions throughout milk provide base,” they defined.
Requested if farmers will obtain monetary incentives for embracing sustainable farming strategies, Fonterra’s spokesperson mentioned: “For the time being, we gained’t be incentivising our farmers for emissions effectivity. Nonetheless, most of the good practices which can be recognised by means of the Co-operative Distinction additionally lead to emissions effectivity.”
The Co-operative Distinction is a company program Fonterra runs that rewards farmers for ‘practices that assist the long-term success’ of the co-op, together with farming effectivity enhancements and actions related to regenerative agriculture practices, resembling pasture administration. “The Co-operative Distinction fee encourages farmers to undertake new and rising practices and is achieved by means of differentiating the value our farmers are paid for the milk primarily based on the practices adopted on every farm. A major variety of our farmers have been receiving this fee at some stage, which is a good indication of the high-quality milk and good on-farm practices being carried out,” Fonterra’s consultant advised us.
Moreover enhancing farming effectivity, the co-op is relying on new applied sciences to assist it transfer the needle. This consists of creating its personal methane-inhibiting feed, Kowbucha, which was anticipated to launch in 2024 however Fonterra was coy on confirming this. “It has been proven in repeat trials that Kowbucha can cut back methane emissions whereas enhancing feed effectivity in younger dairy cattle by as much as 20%,” the consultant advised DairyReporter. “At present, we’re investigating if the results of Kowbucha prolong to lactating cattle whereas additionally getting ready for the regulatory course of that’s required by the New Zealand authorities for all merchandise making methane claims. The time to achieve market will likely be ruled by the regulatory approval course of.”
There’s additionally ongoing work on a so-called methane vaccine, which is being led by three way partnership AgriZeroNZ, additionally behind different long-term tech R&D. “AgriZeroNZ is a long-term partnership with business companions and over the subsequent three years we’ve dedicated to take a position $50 million,” the spokesperson advised us. “Since being established lower than a yr in the past, it has made 4 investments into vaccines, inhibitors and probiotics. There are one other 59 tasks on the radar.”
Along with discovering options, work within the regulatory area is ongoing to permit for brand spanking new options to be accessible to farmers and likewise the enlargement of Fonterra’s GHG testing services in New Zealand.
Concluding, the Fonterra spokesperson mentioned: “Proper now, Fonterra is among the world’s lowest carbon suppliers of dairy at scale, nonetheless there’s a whole lot of exercise throughout different markets to scale back emissions to fulfill their targets.
“Our local weather roadmap outlines the actions we’ll take in the direction of our 2030 targets and our ambition to be internet zero in 2050. Alongside the way in which we’ll deal with some important milestones together with phasing out of coal by 2037 and 100% of farmers having a Farm Atmosphere Plan by 2025.
“It’s also our perception is that from New Zealand’s low emissions start line, our continued enhancements will make us your best option for our prospects to speed up their journey to a internet zero future.”
